Travel tips for opera lovers – Hamburg and Handel

Handel in Hamburg

The series about historical places of opera art & culture. Get to know exciting excursion and travel ideas for opera lovers. This time: Handel in Hamburg

All Destinations on google maps with links to detailed Blogposts:

Handel in Hamburg

On the advice of Telemann, Handel went to Hamburg in 1703, where the impulsive Mattheson was the musical director of the Theater am Gänsemarkt. Handel stayed there for three years, worked at the theater and composed early works, most of which are lost. The best known surviving work is the opera “Almira”. He got along well with Mattheson until the memorable opera performance when Matthesson left the harpsichord during a number to sing on stage himself. When he returned to the harpsichord, Handel, who had taken over, would not release the seat. The whole thing ended with a sword duel in front of the theater. Handel seems to have been lucky, because Mattheson’s blade is said to have burst on a wide button on Handel’s vest. This was a sign from God and the two reconciled. Handel left Hamburg for Italy in 1706.

The bourgeois theater at Gänsemarkt, built in 1678, was controversial in Hamburg from the beginning because the church feared competition. Its design was oversized for the city of 40,000-70,000. The 2,000-seat theater had a good reputation, but seems to have had an occupancy rate of only 20%. The last performance was said to have been attended by only 8 spectators. In 1765 it was demolished.

Destination Museum KomponistenQuartier (Home of the composers)

A model of the old opera house can be seen in the private museum KomponistenQuartier. Highlights include musical instruments such as the upright piano on which Johannes Brahms taught, a clavichord, the instrument favored by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, etc. The interesting museum mainly focuses on composers who worked in Hamburg (Brahms, Telemann, Hasse, Mendelssohn, Mahler).

The museum is located on Peterstrasse in beautiful historic Hamburg houses and also houses a nice café.

KomponistenQuartier:

https://www.komponistenquartier.de/